Pictured: Grace Lyons, the No. 3 ranked player in the 2018 Hot 100, will be playing on a newly formed Arizona team (see below for details).


This week’s column includes verbal no. 2 for Duke as well as some news on club teams combining that should make them ones to watch for next year and a list of over 50 new verbals for this week!

If you’d like to submit info, be it commitment news, players to watch, outstanding performances, or other relevant recruiting news, send to: brentt.eads@flosoftball.tv.

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For the second week in a row, Head Coach Marissa Young of Duke has pulled in a verbal, which is significant because it’s the second commitment in the school’s softball history!

FloSoftball detailed the first commit, pitcher Peyton St. George, last Friday in a Player Spotlight.

This week’s pickup is an outstanding middle infielder in Makenna Lutterloh, a 2017 grad who will fit in well at the academically strong ACC school as she has a 4.14 GPA.

Makenna, who attends Santa Margarita High in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., told FloSoftball today:

“I did commit to play for Coach Young at Duke on Friday, September 4th, after spending the day with her on campus.”
 
“Coach Young first saw me and my team play in PGF last summer in 2014.  Last summer I also visited UNC and Coach Young was very generous and gave me a campus tour.  She watched me and my team play again this summer in 2015 at PGF, as the Duke head coach, which lead to an offer and our commitment.”
 
“I am extremely excited and thankful to play for such a great person and coach, and at such a great university!”

Makenna plays for her father, Mike, who coaches the Firecrackers-Lutterloh 16U team

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Hate to be an “I told you so,” well, actually, we love to be that, especially when it comes to a player we’re high on delivering.

Last week in hits Recruiting News & Notes column we told you about 2017 infielder Brooke Langston from Plantation, Fla. and how we expect her to blow up.

The two-time FloSports All-American, who helped her American Heritage High team win a Florida 5A state championship as a freshman and come in second this past spring, guested for the Jersey Intensity last weekend at the PGF Labor Day Showcase and showed what she can do.

Brooke’s team went 4-1 in the single elimination tournament (after four pool play games) and she got nine hits in 12 at-bats including a triple and three doubles.

The junior with great speed also had five steals and showed a discerning eye with three walks.

Ohio State was reportedly watching her and she’s been looked at elsewhere by ACC and SEC schools.

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Two organizations have consolidated teams and it should make them ones to watch for the 2015-2016 season:

--- The Arizona Firecrackers organization has consolidated last years' two 18U teams.

The new Firecrackers AZ team held tryouts and retained the top 2017 and 2016 players which makes up about half of the new roster.  The rest of the new roster is made up of the top players from the 16U Hinkle Firecrackers team.  

Already strong after the 16U team won the Colorado Sparkler Super 32 tournament, the new team is loaded with talent including 2018 pitcher Jessica Lynch, an Arizona State commit who went  5-0 with a 1.80 ERA in the Sparkler; infielder Grace Lyons, a 2018 Oklahoma commit who is the FloSoftball No. 3 player in her class’s Hot 100; 2016 infielder Madison Uden, a Michigan verball and 2016 pitcher/infielder Bailey Klitzke, a Wichita State commit.  

All but two of the players on this team are committed to D1 schools including the ones above plus Utah, Virginia and Penn.

--- Down in Georgia, there have been some significant changes in the Georgia Impact organization which had a great run this year at PGF as six teams across all ages—10U to 18U—finished 13th or higher led by the 14U Impact-Lewis team finishing 2nd in a good game with OC Batbusters-Campell.

The Impact has new teams at each age division and what will be interesting to watch is at the 18U level where, with Will Tomasello and Rick Jeffreys retiring, Patrick Lewis, who led the 14U team, will now oversee the Georgia Impact National 16U and Georgia Impact Premier 18U teams with several coaches helping run both teams.

Key players from Jeffreys’ and Lewis’ teams that were deemed ready for Gold play have been combined to form the 18U Premier team and key players from those two squads that need a year of 16U softball are now on the Impact team.

Interestingly, both teams will practice together and, where eligible, “can move between the two teams based on tournament needs” according to Tomasello.

“In doing this, Patrick and I feel we have assimilated a Top 10 national product in both age groups,” adds Tomasello, who oversees the Impact organization. “Both of these teams will be exciting to watch in the coming year.”

Already, other top club coaches have taken notice; the Premier 18U team has been invited to play in the prestigious So Cal A’s Invitational next June in which only about a dozen or so elite teams are asked to play.

Again, two interesting mergers and we’ll see how strong these teams are as fall play picks up.

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Congrats to the Illinois Chill, which saw its 14U team win the PGF Labor Day Showcase on Monday in an exciting 6-5 eight inning win over the Jersey Intensity.

Head Coach and organizational lead Gerry Quinn doesn’t run the big conglomerate-type of organization—Gerry, tax attorney by trade, has one team for each age group and he oversees each team making the program’s success that much more impressive.

And he’s having solid success in getting players to major programs in conferences like the Big Ten and SEC and, equally important, into great academic schools such as Cornell, Yale, San Diego, etc.

FloSoftball asked Coach Quinn who are some of the rising uncommitted talents in the Chill line-up… here’s what he said:

“In a nutshell we have two 2017s that are strong uncommitted prospects and they are on the 16U team: catcher Kira Mickelson and pitcher Hannah Nommensen.”

“Kira is a very strong receiver, fundamentally sound blocker and exceptional pitch framer. Her arm is also very solid. Kira was one of our top hitters at 16U this past summer and is expected to be a major RBI producer this year. She has offers and is looking towards playing through the fall season before making a decision.:

“Hannah is a  pitcher with good size at 5-foot-11 and has a strong work ethic. She’s a good spin pitcher with a curve, rise and screw that all move well, low 60’s velocity with a chance to continue to raise it. Hannah averages over a strikeout an inning in both high school and club ball. She is very close to breaking out and becoming a dominant pitcher at the 16u level.”

He adds that his freshman group is one to watch.

“Our 2019 class is potentially exceptional,” Quinn continues. “Two of them are on our 16U and the rest are on our 14U.  I think 4-6 of those kids are possibly Power 5 conference kids.”

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Finally, more underclassmen from the Chicago area: Coach Erin Gibler of the Elite Bulls/Sox Academy says she has a pair of 2019’s that are worth watching—both were at the PGF Labor Day Showcase as well:

--- MIF Sierra Lane (2019, Bulls/Sox Academy 14U Elite)
High School:  Bradly Bourbannais High School, Ill., 4.0 GPA (out of 4.0 GPA)
“Sierra is a high intensity, very versatile and instinctual player with a strong arm and under 3.0 seconds home to first speed.   She hit over .500 the previous weekend in six games at the Stars of Tomorrow Tournament in Iowa.  She primarily plays shortstop but could easily adjust to any position on the field.”

RHP Antoinette Hill (2019, Bulls/Sox Academy 14U Elite)
High School: Reed Custer High School, Ill., 4.29 GPA (out of 4.0 GPA)
Antoinette is a powerful 5-foot-11 pitcher who has great presence on the mound and command over her pitches.  She can also play a strong defensive first base and is a very positive teammate.”

More verbals:

2B/OF Sam Alm (2018, Creighton)… plays for Nebraska Quakes Prime    
OF Hailey Arteaga (2016, Seton Hall)… plays for Corona Angels-Howard    
P/3B Annie Bailey (2017, Sam Houston State)… plays for Impact Gold - Shahan    
IF Quinn Biggio (2018, Notre Dame)… plays for Jersey Intensity    
C Brianna Burton (2016, Houston)… plays for Impact Gold     
P Maggie Cannon (2018, UNC Charlotte)… plays for Wagner's M/G Gold    
OF/MIF Felicia Ceja (2017, San Jose State)… plays for USA Elite    
MIF Lydia Clanton (2018, Southern Miss)… plays for Louisiana Voodoo     
UT Madison Cole (2016, Army)… plays Jersey Intensity    
P Amber Coons (2017, McNeese State)… plays for Marucci Patriots    
INF/UT Kaylee Cross (2016,     Mount St. Mary's)… plays for Bayside Blues    
C/1B Micaela Cummings (2016, Delaware State)… plays for Lady Lightning Gold     
OF Rachel Daugherty (2016, Morgan State)… plays for Bayside Blues    
MIF Nicky Dawson (2016, LSU)… plays for Louisiana Voodoo Gold    
P Taylor Edwards (2019, LSU)… plays for Louisiana Voodoo Gold    
C Lynnsie Elam (2017, Oklahoma)… plays for Gametime Stars Gold - Fisher    
Caeley Etter (2017, Mount St. Mary's)… plays for Tri-State Thunder Gold    
C/1B Hannah Gasaway (2017, Belmont)… plays for Aces Express    
SS Sara Geier (2018, McNeese State)… plays for Marucci Patriots    
MIF Brighton Gilbert  (2017, Wichita State)… plays for Gametime Stars Gold - Fisher    
SS/3B Sierra Gilmore (2017, Murray State)… plays for Heart of Ohio Rage    
OF Kara Goff (2017, LSU)… plays for Marucci Patriots    
MIF Toni Hebert (2016, Northwestern State)… plays for Louisiana Voodoo Gold    
MIF/OF Raven Houck (2016, Penn)… plays for CT Charmers Gold    
P Madi Huck (2016, Kent State)… plays for Indiana Magic Gold    
UT Tori Jones (2016,    Florida Atlantic)… plays for Jersey Intensity    
OF Mallory Kane (2016, Lafayette)… plays for CT Charmers    
P/3B Kassidy Krupit (2018, Delaware)… plays for East Cobb Bullets - Biele    
OF Carolynn Kuhn (2017, Indiana)… plays for Trevians    
2B/OF Makenna Lutterloh (2017, Duke)… plays for Firecrackers-Lutterloh    
P Kali Magane (2016, Boston Univ.)… plays for CT Charmers Gold    
MIF Briana Marcelino (2017, Connecticut)… plays for CT Charmers Gold    
IF/OF Taylor Marinelli (2017, Saint Joseph's)… plays for New Jersey Cheetahs    
P Alex McManus (2019, Notre Dame)… plays for Jersey Intensity    
P Samantha Mracich (2016, Nicholls State)… plays for Marucci Patriots    
MIF/OF Bri Neal (2019, Northwestern State)… plays for Louisiana Voodoo Gold    
P Kelsey Oh (2017, South Carolina)… plays for Jersey Intensity    
SS Courtney Ortego (2018, Southeastern Louisiana)… plays for NOLA    
2B Kennedy Page (2018, Louisiana Monroe)… plays for Marucci Patriots    
P/3B Jordyn Perkins (2018, LSU)… plays for Louisiana Voodoo Gold    
C/IF Raylee Pogue  (2019, Oklahoma)… plays for Gametime Stars Gold - Fisher    
UT Pryscilla Prince (2017, Southeastern Louisiana)… plays for XLR8    
C/UT Hailey Raio (2018, Ole Miss)… plays for Arizona Athletics - Householder    
OF Anna Rodenberg (2017, Southeastern Louisiana)… plays for XLR8    
C/3B Victoria Rodriguez (2017, Southern Nazarene)… plays for Impact Gold - Shahan    
IF Micah Schroder (2016, Dartmouth)… plays for TX CF Intruders Gold    
C Alyssa Sciafani (2016, Loyola)… plays for New Jersey Cheetahs    
1B/3B Kassidy Seary (2016, Binghamton)… plays for TC Tremors    
2B/OF Claire Smith (2017, Middle Tennessee State)… plays for Tennessee Illusions    
OF Kaitlyn St. Clair (2016, Northwestern State)… plays for TX CF Intruders Gold    
P Baylie Thornhill (2017, South Alabama)… plays for Marucci Patriots    
P Abby Trahan (2016, Saint Francis)… plays for Marucci Patriots    
OF/MIF Elise Vincent (2016, Northwestern State)… plays for Louisiana Voodoo Gold    
OF/MIF Adele Vincent (2016, Northwestern State)… plays for Louisiana Voodoo Gold    
C/3B Danielle Walls (2017, Murray State)… plays for Southern Force - Bloomer    
3B Madison Watson (2017, Southeastern Louisiana)… plays for Southern Sluggers    
P Jesse Watts (2016, Louisiana Monroe)… plays for Marucci Patriots    
P Tori White (2016, Minnesota State)… plays for California Cruisers    
OF Tate Whitley (2018, Ole Miss)… plays for Texas Bombers Gold    
P Tanner Wright (2016, Southeastern Louisiana)… plays for Wichita Mustangs​